Stabilzing unit for traffic light arms



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 21, 1952 .R RJ mp F E A F P C VI R N E H llm d ATTORNEY.

p 14, 1954 H. c. PFAFF, JR

STABILIZING UNIT FOR TRAFFIC LIGHT ARMS 2 Sheets-Sheet Filed Oct. 21, 1952 FIG].

INVENTOR. HENRY C. PFAFF'. JR.

ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 14, 1 954 STABILIZING UNIT FOR TRAFFIC LIGHT ARMS Henry ,C. Rfaff, Jr., Summit, N. J., assignor to Pfaff and Kendall, Newark, N. J a corporation of New Jersey Applica ion October 21, 1952, Serial No. 315,909

4 Claims. 1 This invention relates to tratfic light units and more particularly to such unit including a light arm pendantly secured to a pole and extending horizontally therefrom. Traffic poles are conventionally located at the margins ,of highways or at some distance therefrom with the light arms extended pendantly, directly and over the highways. In many cases, these arms extend for some distance from the pole, and being pendant, the point of connectien of the arm to the pole is subjected to considerable stress and strain incident to normal weather conditions.

The present invention is designed to stabilize light unit arms pendantly secured to poles and preferably comprises a cross arm secured to the pole at a point higher than that at which the traffic light arm issecured to the pole, and means tending fr m t c os a m nd Connected to the trafiic light unit adjacent the end thereof remote from the pole, to stabilize the same.

The invention is designed to be fabricated initially in standard sizes and is provided with means whereby the angles required for connection of a light unit arm to the cross arm pursuant to the invention may be readily adjusted by the worker in the held.

The invention may be used in connection with original equipment or with existing trafilc light unit arms. It may be provided as auxiliary or supplemental equipment or installed at the same scription hereinafter, are accomplished by my invention, of which an embodiment is illustrated in the drawings. It will be apparent, from a consideration of said drawings and the following description that the invention may be embodied in other forms suggested thereby; such other forms as come within the scope of the appended claims shall be considered to be within the scope and purview of the instant invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a trafic light unit arm pendantly secured to a pole and showing the stabilizing unit of the present invention engaging the traffic light unit arm and pole,

Fi 2 is an enlarged horizontal elevational view, partly fragmentary, taken on line 2--2 of Fig. 1,

Fig. 3 is an enlarged horizontal transverse eleof Fig. 1,.and

Fig. l is an enlarged longitudinal elevational 2 view, partly fragmentary, taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary .elevational view of the upper portion of a pole, showing the application of my invention thereto,

Fig. 6 is a similar view of the upper portion of another type of pole, showing the applicationof my invention thereto, and

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of the upper ends of a pairpf poles having units embodying the invention secured thereto.

As shown in the drawings, the invention is adapted for application to the light unit arm H] pendantly secured to the pole H, as at I2, 13; the last mentioned reference characters indi-- cate any desired or conventional means to that end. The light ,unit arm [0 conventionally has secured thereto at the end 15 remote from the pole I! the trainc light'unit. The traffic light unit as shown in patent applications filed by me, bearing Serial os. 251,475 and 185,184, is secured intermediate the horizontal bars of the light unit ill at said end l 5. AS Will be readily appreciated, this arrangement of the parts places the weight of the trafiic light unit secured to the arm Id at the endpf the latter remote from the pole; the present invention provides a highly efficient means for stabilizing the light unit arm.

As shown the drawings, the stabilizing unit 29 comprises a cross bar 2i which is medially secured to pole H as by means of any suitable bracket or other securing means 22. A stabilizin bracket 23 is secured to the arm I!) at the end it thereof remote ,from the pole; and tie rods 24, 25 are secured to the ends of stabilizing bracket 23 and cross arm 2!, respectively, to thereby connect the light unitarrn Hi to pole I I in stabilizing relation. in the forms shown in the drawings, the cross bar 2.! is provided with fittings 2t, 2] to which the ends of the tie rods 2t, 25 are secured.

Each of the fittings 2-5, 2.?! .comprises (Figs. 1 and 2) like halves 23, {29 having first complementary recessed portions so, 36' at one end to receive the cross arm 2! therebetween (Fig. 2) and having second complementary recessed portions 3i, 3.! and complementary aperture por- 3 otherwise provided with means whereby the free end of the rod 24 may be secured thereto. The single bolt means 34 thus clamps the fitting onto cross arm 2| and ball 35 within the fitting. The description with regard to the fitting 25 applies equally to the fitting 21 to secure the tie rod 25 to the other end of the cross arm 2|. The opening defined by the apertures 32, 32' in the fitting will be predetermined to be of less diameter than ball member 35 so that the latter will be effectively secured within the fitting while permitting of the movement of the tie rod, and thus the ball member, in the initial adjustment of the parts, before fully tightening the bolt 34. Thus the workmen may secure the tie rod to the fitting at precisely the angles required to secure the parts together as shown in the drawings. This feature of adjustability is highly important and saves considerable time in application of the stabilizing unit to the trafiic light unit arm and pole, I

at the point of installation. The flexibility of the device permits of the ready adjustment of the parts to their final position as shown in the drawings, without requiring any elaborate preliminary mathematical calculations, the devices automatically compensating for differences in tolerance of the parts and in their relative juxtapositioning. If desired, the ends of the halves 28, 29 of fitting 26 may be extended at the lefthand end of the fitting in the position shown in i Fig. 2 and apertured to receive a bolt so that the bolt arrangement shown in Fig. 2 intermediate recessed portions 30, 30 will be duplicated at the other side of the arm 2|, in carrying out the invention.

The opposite ends of the rods 24, 25 are secured to the stabilizing bracket 23, shown in its preferred form in Figs. 1 and 3, and comprising a pair of like complementary bracket halves 36, 36' having first recessed portions 31, 31' to receive therebetween the light unit arm IO and having bearing ends 33, located at each side of the first recessed portions 31, 31. Second recessed portions 38, 38' are located in each of the bearing ends 39, 40; a description of one will suffice for both. Likewise, each of the bearing ends 39, 40 of bracket 23 has apertures 4|, 4| opening into and of less diameter than the re\ cessed portions 38, 38'. Ball members 42, 42' (Fig. 3) are rotatably received in the recessed portions of the bearings 38, 40, so that the free ends of rods 24, 25 may be secured to said ball members by threading the same thereto, as shown in Fig. 4, or otherwise as desired. It will be apparent that the parts may be packaged or transported in knock-down condition and assembled on the job. The halves 36, 36' of bracket 23 are preferably clamped together by bolt means 43, 43', or the like passed through apertures in said bracket halves or by other means adapted to that end.

The parts are thus locked in final position at exactly the correct disposition of the tie rods 24, 25 relative to each other and to arm 10 required for the particular installation involved.

The invention is adapted for use in connection with various types of poles and light unit arms associated therewith. For example, in Fig. 5, the pole Ila is shown, to which the light unit arm Ilia is secured by means of brackets 12a or the like. This type of construction is particularly suited where it is desired to extend the light unit over a highway at some distance from the pole proper Ila. Bracket 23a of Fig. 5 in such case would be secured to the light unit arm Illa at a point intermediate the length of the latter; said bracket 23a of Fig. 5 corresponds generally with the bracket 23 of Fig. 1, and utilizes a unit 20a corresponding with unit 23 of Fig. 1. The tie rods 24a of Fig. 5 corresponding with 24, 25 of Fig. 1, the single tie rod 24a being visible in Fig. 5 because it is an elevational View. Fig. 6 shows the adaptation of the invention to a unit arm lllb for suspending a vertical signal 43 over the roadway, 'the light unit arm lDb being secured to pole lib by bracket 12b or the like. The parts in Fig. 6 designated by reference characters 20b, 24b and 23b, correspond with those indicated by reference character 20, 24 and 23, respectively, in Fig. 1. In the Fig. 6 construction, a brace 44 is shown connected at 45, 46 to the pole llb and light unit arm [01), respectively. This construction, like the construction shown in Fig. 5, is well suited to an installation wherein it is desired that the light be disposed at a point remote from the point of disposition of the pole. In Fig. '7 construction, a pair of stabilizing units 20c, 20d are shown, corresponding with the unit 20 of Fig. 1, secured respectively to the spaced poles l lc, Hd, to which light unit lOc is connected as at [20, Hi. The construction shown in Fig. 7 is particularly suited for bridges and other situations wherein a very long arm Hlc is required. Essentially, the construction of Fig. '7 duplicates Fig. l at pole I I0 with a mirror image arrangement at the pole lld with the straight, continuous elongated arm [0c connecting poles llc, lld. The same arrangement may be used in connection with any other type of member, such as arm [3c to be secured relative to a pair of spaced poles Ha, I Id. The parts 23c, 23d of Fig. '7 correspond generally with stabilizing bracket 23 of Fig. 1, and said members 23c, 23d are connected to member 20c, 23d in an arrangement corresponding with that of the members 20, 23 respectively at Fig. 1.

It will be appreciated that the relative proportions of the parts shown in Fig. '7 would be varied in practice; for example, tube [0c might be much longer in most cases than its relative length indicated in Fig. 7. Likewise, the poles llc, Hd might be materially further apart so as to present between the units 23c, 23d more space than indicated in Fig. '7. That, however, is a matter purely of adaptation to a particular installation.

Having thus described my invention, What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A stabilizing unit for a traffic light arm projecting laterally from a vertical pole, comprising a cross bar, means for securing the bar intermediate its ends to said pole in vertically spaced relation to said arm, a fitting removably secured to each end of said cross bar, an elongated stabilizing bracket' having means intermediate its ends'for removably securing the same to said arm in transverse relation thereto and parallel with said cross arm, a pair of tie rods for disposal at opposite sides of said arms, and means within said fittings and said stabilizing bracket for providing universal connections between said rods and said fittings and stabilizing bracket.

2. The structure according to claim 1 wherein each said fitting comprises a pair of like members, said members having plane abutting faces, said members having cooperating semi-cylindrical recesses at corresponding ends thereof for reception of said cross bars, said members further having cooperating semi-spherical recesses in their opposite ends and said members further having outwardly flared apertures communicating with said semi-spherical recesses, a ball member disposed within said semi-spherical recesses, said members having aligned apertures intermediate their opposite ends for receiving bolts to draw said members together into frictional contact with said cross bar and said ball member.

3. The structure according to claim 1, wherein said stabilizing bracket comprises a pair of like members having plane abutting faces, said members in their abutted operative position having a cylindrical opening intermediate their ends for receiving said arm, said members in their abutted operative position having spherical recesses at opposite ends thereof and outwardly flared openings communicating with the recesses, a ball member in each said recess, said members having aligned apertures intermediate said cylindrical opening and said recesses for receiving bolts to draw said members into frictional engagement with said arm and said ball members.

4. The structure according to claim 3, wherein said tie rods have their opposite ends disposed within the outwardly flared openings in said fittings and said stabilizing bracket and threadedly engaged with said ball members, said ball members providing said universal connection when said first and said second bolts are in a loosened condition.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 589,045 Temple Aug. 31, 1897 1,770,272 Horni July 8, 1930 2,067,868 Vom Lehn Jan. 12, 1937 20 2,442,736 Valentine June 1, 1948 

